Resolutions

Last year my New Year's Resolutions were straightforward. I have achieved four out of five of them.

1. I promised to take good care of my car. Well, I did, although the "car" involved in that resolution changed through no fault of my own!  An idiot ran a red light in February and ruined my old Toyota.  But it was in great shape right up to that moment, and I've done a fine job thus far with its replacement.

2. Keep up with the insurance on car.  Done. 

3. Venture outside of the borders of the U.S. Oops. Never got that done in 2011.  I did get as far as Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, though. 

4. Make progress toward the publication of another book.  This, I've accomplished. I've accepted the fact that the publication of this book will have to be self-financed, but that is more of an observation on the state of the commercial publishing world today than on the merits of my book. At any rate, I've come to a point where the wording of the corresponding resolution for next year will be unconditional.

5. Keep track of Nassar Saber.  Done.  He is still writing about how he is working on his next book.  Maybe 2012 will be the year it actually comes out.  But I've decided not to include such tracking on my next list.

This year....

1. Get my car ("Doug") through December 2012 in good working order

2. Make an entrepreneurial investment. Shouldn't just talk a good game on the anarcho-cap stuff.

3. Regarding technology: enter the 21st century.  For example, get audio back for my computer. Get Skype capacity for it. Learn how to use -- heck, become comfortable using -- my scanner.

4.  Publish GWBCs and sell at least 1,000 copies.

5. Venture outside the borders of the U.S.

La Quinta

I spent two nights at La Quinta hotel in Stamford, CT last week: Thursday into Friday, and Friday into Saturday. 

I use La Quinta fairly often for my NYC jaunts -- its easier than trying to make the trip down from north of Hartford, take care of your business, and come back all in one day. This time, I stretched that much action out over three days and two nights making a mini-vacation of it.

One thing I like about La Quinta is that each room has a real honest-to-goodness wardrobe, instead of a built-in closet.  A real porthole-to-Narnia wardrobe.  Haven't found my way through the back yet, though.

One thing that annoys me is that they haven't figured out that I'm a repeat customer. I'm supposed to get some sort of discount for being a repeat customer, but there must be some period of time, after the passage of which, my earlier visit drops out of their system.  I must not be sufficiently frequent in my trips there.

Ah well.  In the middle of this life we're bound upon....

Resolutions

Here's a straightforward list.

1. Take good care of my car. If all goes well, I should complete the payments on "Hirohito" as 2011 comes to an end. I need to keep it maintained properly so it won't die on me before then.

2. Keep up with its insurance, too! Yes, I know that's the law. Doesn't hurt to remind myself in the form of a resolution.

3. Venture outside the boundaries of the U.S. I had gotten spoiled with traveling back in 'the day.' I've remained within the U.S. for each of the last two years. Hope that doesn't becomes a three-year streak. (I love my country -- I just also love travel.)

4. Make progress toward the publication of another book. My last book, the secondary education textbook on economics I co-authored, came out a decade ago. Too long a dry spell.

5. Keep track of Nasser Saber. Will his long-promised book be published in 2011? Am I going to be mentioned therein? I have a feeling in my bones, folks.

Resolutions

My resolutions from last year were as follows:

1. Resume my morning walk.
2. Be more frugal in general, this year. Pay down debts.
3. More specifically, don't leave the US this year (travelling is my most expensive indulgence).
4. Forget about the novel. Focus on production/sale of a non-fiction work on the criminal prosecution of insider trading.
5. Learn some Cantonese.
6. Don't lose glasses.

The results? I did pretty well on (1) -- walking early in most reasonably clement mornings.

I have succeeded with (3), but it is chiefly meaningful as a token of (2), and I can't claim success with (2) in general.

I haven't gotten anywhere with a work on insider trading, so black marks for that.

I didn't learn any Cantonese.

I have hung on to my glasses, but I can't give myself a gold star for that, since one of the two lenses keeps popping out. I need to get a kit and figure out how to fix that for myself when it happens.

It has been my custom at this point to let you in on my resolutions for the coming twelve months. I'm afraid that custom is one I have to bring to an end -- or at least a hiatus -- now. My resolutions for 2010 will have to stay offline. If things do work out, though, I'll tell you about it a year hence.